A Londoner had a impolite awakening when an unique gliding possum startled noisily scuttling round his bed room after swooping in by way of an open window.
John Zou, 27, awakened in his Holborn flat by the scampering rodent at round 5am on Monday morning.
After initially considering the creature was a rat, he was shocked to find that his intruder was a nocturnal sugar glider, normally present in Australia.
Mr Zou took a video of the possum which had travelled to London and confirmed it trying round his room – apparently flummoxed by its environment.
The Holborn possum is feared to have escaped or been deserted by a earlier proprietor
John Zou, 27, discovered the scampering marsupial in his sixth-floor flat on Monday morning
Mr Zou mentioned: ‘I used to be asleep and woke as much as the noise of one thing working across the bed room.
‘I used to be scared it is perhaps a rat however after I went to research I discovered this little creature.
‘I did not understand it was a sugar glider so I despatched pictures to some associates and so they helped me to establish it.’
Mr Zou known as the RSPCA when he found the marsupial and the charity despatched an inspector the following day who took the displaced animal to a specialist keeper in Cambridgeshire.
The footage, filmed by Mr Zou, exhibits the displaced possum exploring his new environment
The sugar glider appeared flummoxed by unfamiliar surrounding within the sixth flooring flat
Whereas he waited, he supplied the creature with the sugary fruit from which it will get its title.
Sugar gliders, named after their love of candy treats and their potential to soar greater than 50 metres from tree to tree, are native to Australia, New Guinea and elements of Indonesia.
The RSPCA worry this significantly adventurous flying possum was stored as a pet which both escaped or was sadly deserted.
The possum was ultimately taken to a specialist caretaker in Cambridgeshire by the RSPCA
Inspector Francesca Tambini mentioned: ‘Sugar gliders look extremely cute and this little man is cute.
‘It is easy to see why individuals is perhaps tempted to purchase them as pets however we might urge them to rethink; these animals want very specialist care and we do not imagine they’re appropriate as pets.
‘I anticipate this little man is an escaped pet or has been deserted domestically earlier than turning up on this man’s balcony.
‘Sadly, we do see these types of animals being deserted from time-to-time when their house owners realise how tough it’s to satisfy their wants in a family setting.
Mr Zou had initially feared that scampering sounds had been coming from an intrusive rat
‘They’re nocturnal animals who should be allowed to sleep throughout the day and to be awake and energetic at evening.
‘They should be fed an acceptable food plan and be supplied with UVB mild in captivity, to forestall metabolic bone illness.
‘They’re arboreal, that means they spend their lives up within the bushes, and might glide for 50m or extra, which might be extraordinarily tough to offer for in a typical dwelling.
‘They’re additionally extremely sociable so ought to by no means be stored on their very own, and might reside for over 10 years.’